In New Zealand vernacular, "youse" (or "yous") is the more common variant, and like "y'all" it is looked down on as being regional or a signifier of lower class. I disagree, English really needs a second-person plural pronoun, and I spent some time deliberately using it in speaking and writing hoping it would catch on. There are dozens of us! Dozens!
In Defense of Y'All
141–150 of 381 posts
Re: In Defense of Y'All
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
Though often used in a gender neutral way, "guys" is definitely more male than "y'all".
IIRC guy part is actually descended from Guy Faux, which in itself is cool. (edit: fix grammar)
Which itself seems to be related to the word "guy" as in "guy wire" also related to "guide", "guidance", or "guidelines". Meaning to lead, direct, or conduct. To show the way.
Re: In Defense of Y'All
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I thought 'they' is always plural? You see someone two blocks away doing something unusual and say, "what are they doing?"
Only if you can't determine gender. Otherwise, you'd be "what is she/he doing?" It's usually clear from context. How often do you look two blocks away and see a group of unrelated individuals doing different things to the point "what are they doing" is unclear? Can't say I've ever run into that in my 48 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
You might just not notice it.
Re: In Defense of Y'All
#144Y'all forever. One of the few southern mannerisms I intentionally don't drop as a lapsed southerner in California. As an aside, I find it strange how many aspects of "the south" are labeled as "Texan" outside the south. I lived and visited all over the Deep South and y'all was standard vernacular pretty much everywhere. I'm not saying Texans don't say y'all, but they definitely don't have any unique claim to using it…
As a native Texan myself, "y'all" is one I've always hated, from my earliest youth. It just seemed excessively hokey and hayseed. I unapologetically, unironically use "howdy", "a piece", "a ways", "over yonder", "get to goin'", and "fixin' to". But "y'all" is a bridge too far.
I grew up mostly in the north and talk very northernly, but somehow the only exception is that 'howdy' became my standard greeting. 'yall' feels like too much, but 'howdy' just rolls off the tongue so smoothly. Other greetings always sound too terse (hi, hey), too formal (hello), or are questions (how's it going, what's up) which I just loathe. Though technically howdy is sort of a question too, coming from 'how do you do'.
What's 'a piece'? Don't think I've heard that one.
Re: In Defense of Y'All
#145Midwesterner here - I use y'all all the time and nobody says anything about it. I live in an area where "yunz" is more popular (not quite yins) and I just hate the sound of that word. So y'all it is!
I’m a Pittsburgher who moved to Indianapolis when I was 7. I remember encountering the word y’all and thinking, “oh they just mean yinz.” I wonder if someone came from an area where neither are common, if the first encounter is more jarring?
Re: In Defense of Y'All
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not sexist at all, and anyone who objects to it on those grounds is flat out looking for excuses to be offended.
So you're willing to just brush off a large groups complaints with a phrase entirely meant to address groups?
In communication there are senders and receivers.
You can receive something a certain way that was not intended by a sender.
It's important to try to understand the intent of the sender. In this case, many cultures sending the message "you guys" don't internally view this as relating to gender.
You could try to change their culture because many people receive it wrong, or you could learn about the culture and try to change the receivers culture.
Sometimes you can't accept the differences because it's perpetuates too much harm.
Where to draw the line is an ongoing and difficult question.
Re: In Defense of Y'All
#147As a non-native English speaker, I love "y'all" because it lets me directly translate our word for, well, "y'all" to English. I seriously struggle to formulate sentences such that it's clear from context that I mean "plural you" in this here case. So what happens is, I start saying a sentence that has "you" in it, and at the "y" I notice that it'll be unclear, I quickly bend it to "y'all", and the day is saved! Hoora…
"Folks"
"Do you folks need more time?"
The problem with "people" is it sounds vaguely rude or hostile.
"Do you people need more time?"
Re: In Defense of Y'All
#148I tease non-Texans that Texan English is actually superior to normal American English because it supports second-person plural via "Y'all" exactly as mentioned in this article... "you guys" is, to some ears, sexist, and "youse guys" (a New York-ism) is a little too old-school Italian. English lost its second person plural when we switched from Thou (second person singular formal + Thee=second person singular informal…
As a native midwesterner, I get more annoyed and defensive than I should when people complain that “you guys” isnt gender neutral. Where I come from, everyone is “a guy”.
It can mean “male person”, but that’s only if you use it in specific contexts that brings up gender (like saying “guys and gals”).
Re: In Defense of Y'All
#149I tease non-Texans that Texan English is actually superior to normal American English because it supports second-person plural via "Y'all" exactly as mentioned in this article... "you guys" is, to some ears, sexist, and "youse guys" (a New York-ism) is a little too old-school Italian. English lost its second person plural when we switched from Thou (second person singular formal + Thee=second person singular informal…
As a native midwesterner, I get more annoyed and defensive than I should when people complain that “you guys” isnt gender neutral. Where I come from, everyone is “a guy”. It can mean “male person”, but that’s only if you use it in specific contexts that brings up gender (like saying “guys and gals”).
This would be plausible if I had ever heard a straight man talk about the guys he had dated.
Re: In Defense of Y'All
#150Y'all is efficient. It is just one syllable. Asking the question, "Y'all eat?" Is twice as fast compared to, "Did you all eat?"
Of course, I use it because I'm from the south eastern US, not because it's fast.